Former banking regulatory official sentenced to death with reprieve

Cai Esheng, former vice chairman of the former China Banking Regulatory Commission, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on Friday for accepting bribes and abusing power.

The sentence was handed down to Cai by the Intermediate People's Court of Zhenjiang City in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The court found that Cai took advantage of his positions at the banking regulatory body to assist others in fundraising, loan approval, business contracting, job promotion, and equity transfer between 2006 and 2021. In return, Cai illegally accepted an especially huge amount of bribes in money and valuables.

The court also established that from 2010 to 2013, Cai abused power in performing his regulatory duties, which caused heavy losses to public property and the interests of the state and the people.

The court said Cai has been deprived of his political rights for life, and his personal property has been confiscated.

After the two-year reprieve, Cai's death sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment under the law, but no further sentence reduction or parole will be granted, the court said.